Planens miljöpåverkan – En studie av bedömningsmetoder för kommunala detaljplaner

Sammanfattning: The environmental impact of each new detailed development plan must in some way be assessed in Sweden. If the impact is deemed be significant, this must be further investigated. However, the municipalities can determine themselves how the assessment is done, and the monitoring of the assessment is weak. The study examines the consequences of this by screening what methods are used for the assessment, and the impact of these methods. A study of relevant literature sets the assessment in its context; an interview study at four municipalities examines the purpose of the assessment and a poll sent to all municipalities in Sweden gathers information about today’s circumstances. The study shows that it is most common to use a checklist with qualitative elements. However, these can be used to avoid an adoption of significant environmental impact, but again enables the assessment to be adapted to the conditions of the plan. Assessors mainly considers the operational benefits of the assessment, and the background of the assessor can affect the usage of the assessment later in the process. The officials who have participated in the study are mainly content with their assessment method – regardless of how the assessment is done. However, it is common to think of the assessment’s result as dependent on the assessor – if someone else performed the assessment it might have reached another conclusion. The study also indicates that county administrative boards hold a great capability to influence the choice of method in municipal assessments.